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<title>A Murder, But Not A Crime by Turandot (LostOzian)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30148692">A Murder, But Not A Crime</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostOzian/pseuds/Turandot'>Turandot (LostOzian)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>P5(R) Girls Week 2021 [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>He had it comin', Multi, Murder, Song: Cell Block Tango (Chicago), crimes of passion</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 19:00:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,239</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30148692</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostOzian/pseuds/Turandot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>There’s a terrible prison in Tokyo, where the worst of the worst are held, awaiting trial and sentencing. Six of those inmates are more beautiful than they have ever right to be… and more guilty than they say.</p>
<p>Persona 5(R) Girls Week Day 4: Villains</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>P5(R) Girls Week 2021 [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2214093</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Murder, But Not A Crime</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>AKA the Cell Block Tango AU :3c</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yeah, you're not doing a very good job of this. You say you have questions about this alleged crime, but the way you're staring at me is seriously creepy. I've had these looks basically my whole life, and got to build a pretty nice modeling career off of it, but it was no picnic for me.</p>
<p>The biggest problem was always the guys. It's not my fault they go crazy over my looks! And it’s the same thing every time. I’m just the sweetest, prettiest thing, until I tell them to buzz off. Then, I’m a stuck-up bitch. It’s just pathetic.</p>
<p>Then again, there are some guys who don’t exactly listen to me when I tell them no. You already know who I’m talking about. He was the kind of guy who liked to do favors. Promised me that I’d be his princess, but you knew he was expecting something in return. Something I’d never, ever give him. And he was powerful enough to scare me. That something bad might happen to me if I didn't give him what he wanted.</p>
<p>It’s a shame how they found him—strangled by a whip, right? But you can say it’s me all you like. I didn’t do it, and he had it coming.</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>I've been told by many around me that I've been incredibly fortunate for my whole life. Between my classical looks and my skills and the attention those things earned together, I've been told I should be grateful for all of it. Still, if anyone lived my life, I doubt they'd find it so easy.</p>
<p>I will not deny that I found that young man charming. Charming enough to let into my little world of shogi. The manners of a country boy, who respected my mind and skills, and with such a charming approach. I can’t say if I fell because of his quiet grace or because I had been forbidden from dating at the time. Either way, I grew to love him.</p>
<p>Of course, that made it all the more shocking when I discovered the truth. He must have been overwhelmed by all the beautiful women he found in the big city. In addition to his relationship with me, this young man was dating six other women. Six.</p>
<p>There's nothing I can tell you about his decision to go swimming in Tokyo Bay, holding such a large cinderblock, and in the middle of the night. If he had told me his intentions, I could have let him know it’s very dangerous to try and swim in with that much weight.</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Be cautious of what you accuse me of. This process of justice is meant to identify exactly what people are and are not guilty of, and I won't allow you to assign false intentions to my actions.</p>
<p>I had no romantic relationship with the victim whatsoever, so I’m not even sure why I’m under suspicion. I knew his reputation very well, though. He formed relationships with vulnerable women for the purposes of entrapping them into adult work, so often that he had a reputation in Shinjuku. I hope you've at least put in the effort to corroborate that accusation.</p>
<p>I hadn't been aware of him until a friend of mine introduced us. She was very excited for me to meet him. She… wanted me to see his charms. Told me that they were in love, and that he made her feel like no one else did. And she would do anything for him. For a man like <em>him.</em></p>
<p>As I understand it, he died when he dropped an incredibly expensive bottle of sake directly onto his own head, as evidenced by the skull trauma and the glass in his hair.</p>
<p>You think someone hit him with the bottle? That would be ridiculous. His death was clearly an accident.</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Did you get my letter? With my stipulations? And have you opened any of his old cases yet?! There’s a ton of records I hacked that will corroborate what I told you about last time!</p>
<p>…No, you have to re-open them! If you just look closer, you’ll see he was a total fraud! He was a fraud from the beginning, staging cases and taking credit! And it’s totally obvious! You just need to open up the cases again and take a closer look!</p>
<p>I know it doesn’t change anything, since he’s dead already. But you’re not going to get any plea out of me until you take a closer look! I’m not sorry for what I did, not any of it, but you’re not going to know what I did to him, or how, until you figure out what he did to my mom—!</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>You know that if there was anything I could do to bring them back, I'd do it. I'm not <em>guilty</em>, of course, but I feel bad. There's so much I wish I could have done differently, or at least, I would have known to enjoy the good times, when my sister and I were at the top of the world.</p>
<p>People from all over were coming to see us perform an acrobatics show together. The Twin Maidens, um... a little overblown, but my boyfriend came up with it. He knew how to get trending online, and managed our webpage and all our socials. He always told me that he wanted the world to see how beautiful I was. Well, <em>we</em> were. My sister and I were a duo, and once we went viral, all our shows were sold-out, and we got to travel, all eyes on us. We were glorious together.</p>
<p>After one show, we were at our hotel, and I stepped out to buy us some beverages. I didn’t think I was gone too long, but when I returned… my sister, and my boyfriend… they were... </p>
<p>I… I’m sorry, I don’t remember exactly what happened next. But I’m wiser now. I know that my boyfriend was just the type who wanted to chase glory from other people’s talents, and my sister… Well, I can’t do our show on our own. I always needed her, and I still do. But I shouldn’t have trusted her. Not for a single second.</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>There's quite a few things I miss about the world outside of prison. I think, if I were to be released, the first thing I would do would be enjoy a cup of coffee, brewed with care, and no burned beans. But that would just be the first thing I'd do; the thing that I miss the most, more than coffee, is my garden. I grew such magnificent plants! Fruits and vegetables, my very own coffee beans, and the most beautiful flowers. Roses, petunias, belladona... hemlock...</p>
<p>Um, but this isn’t about gardening! This is about what happened to my father’s close associate. I know that we were arranged to be married, but I did not have any say in that matter. I found his behavior… well, creepy. You must understand the comments he made about me. And my body, and my… age…</p>
<p>It’s no secret that I couldn’t stand him, yes. But when we had tea together that day, I prepared his cup the same way I always did, but after just a few sips he seemed unable to breathe, and he fell over. I will say again, and I will swear before a judge; I don’t know what killed him. I’m just glad he’s dead.</p>
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